Techno-economic Analysis of the Olive Oil Mills Waste Valorisation for Energy Production: A Case Study of Corfu

Olive oil production in Greece is undoubtedly linked to its history and tradition. However, large quantities of by-products are produced (with the olive oil production) which are harmful to the environment. Those environmental problems are a result of the chemical composition of the waste and its high organic load. This intense phenomenon has led to the exploration and development of methods and technolog0ies for the treatment of olive mill waste. One of the methods used is the biogas production through anaerobic digestion and its subsequent disposal for energy production. This method could be particularly appealing to the Greek islands so that there is their energy dependence from the mainland. A typical example is the island of Corfu as the problem of waste from olive oil mills is intense and its energy demands are increased. Therefore, energy production via anaerobic digestion could greatly contribute to overcoming the current situation. The purpose of this study is to design a central power plant, which is fed by biogas, produced by the anaerobic digestion of the waste oil mills in Corfu and to present various economic data regarding its construction and operation.

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Life Cycle Assessment Analysis of Alfalfa and Corn for Biogas Production in a Farm Case Study

Processes ◽

10.3390/pr8101285 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (10) ◽

pp. 1285

Author(s):

Fabiola Filippa ◽

Francesco Panara ◽

Daniela Leonardi ◽

Livia Arcioni ◽

Ornella Calderini

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Anaerobic Digestion ◽

Greenhouse Gases ◽

Energy Production ◽

Fossil Fuels ◽

Biogas Production ◽

Life Cycle Assessment Study ◽

Energy Inputs

In the last years the greenhouse effect has been significantly intensified due to human activities, generating large additional amounts of Greenhouse gases (GHG). The fossil fuels are the main causes of that. Consequently, the attention on the composition of the national fuel mix has significantly grown, and the renewables are becoming a more significant component. In this context, biomass is one of the most important sources of renewable energy with a great potential for the production of energy. The study has evaluated, through an LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) study, the attitude of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) as “no food” biomass alternative to maize silage (corn), in the production of biogas from anaerobic digestion. Considering the same functional unit (1 m3 of biogas from anaerobic digestion) and the same time horizon, alfalfa environmental impact was found to be much comparable to that of corn because it has an impact of about 15% higher than corn considering the total score from different categories and an impact of 5% higher of corn considering only greenhouse gases. Therefore, the analysis shows a similar environmental load in the use of alfalfa biomass in energy production compared to maize. Corn in fact, despite a better yield per hectare and yield of biogas, requires a greater amount of energy inputs to produce 1m3 of biogas, while alfalfa, which requires less energy inputs in its life cycle, has a lower performance in terms of yield. The results show the possibility to alternate the two crops for energy production from an environmental perspective.

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Probabilistic Simulation of Biogas Production from Anaerobic Co-Digestion Using Anaerobic Digestion Model No. 1: A Case Study on Agricultural Residue

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.3935562 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Amsalu Tolessa ◽

Neill J. Goosen ◽

Tobias M. Louw

Keyword(s):

Anaerobic Digestion ◽

Biogas Production ◽

Agricultural Residue ◽

Probabilistic Simulation

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Influence of Ultrasound on the Synthesis of Biogas During Disposal of Beer Spent Grain

Beer and beverages ◽

10.52653/pin.2021.2.2.001 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 33-38

Author(s):

Владимир Владимирович Житков ◽

Борис Николаевич Федоренко

Keyword(s):

Anaerobic Digestion ◽

Energy Production ◽

Biogas Production ◽

Organic Substances ◽

Ultrasonic Pretreatment ◽

Biogas Yield ◽

Spent Grains ◽

Efficient Resource ◽

Spent Grain ◽

Environmentally Friendly Process

Ультразвуковая предварительная обработка считается экологически чистым процессом для повышения биоразлагаемости органических веществ при анаэробном сбраживании. Однако количество потребляемой энергии во время предварительной обработки является проблемой, особенно в тех случаях, когда производство энергии является основной целью биогазовой установки. Основной целью настоящего исследования работы было изучение эффективности ультразвуковой предварительной обработки для увеличения производства биогаза из отходов пивоваренного производства - пивной дробины. Результаты показали, что применение частоты 40 кГц при температуре 40 °С соответственно привело к увеличению выхода биогаза на 83%. Методология показала положительный результат в отношении содержания метана и скорости производства биогаза. Использование ультразвуковой предварительной обработки в отношении пивоваренной дробины для производства биогаза, по-видимому, позволяет решить проблемы не только эффективной утилизации пивоваренных отходов, но и создать экономически эффективный ресурс возобновляемой энергии на пивоваренном или аффилированном с ним производстве. Ultrasonic pretreatment is considered an environmentally friendly process to increase the biodegradability of organic substances during anaerobic digestion. However, the amount of energy consumed during pretreatment is a problem, especially in cases where energy production is the main purpose of the biogas plant. The main purpose of this study was to study the effectiveness of ultrasonic pretreatment to increase the production of biogas from brewing waste - brewer's grains. The results showed that the use of a frequency of 40 kHz at a temperature of 40 °C, respectively, led to an increase in the biogas yield by 83%. The methodology showed a positive result in terms of methane content and biogas production rate. The use of ultrasonic pretreatment for brewing spent grains for biogas production seems to solve the problems of not only efficient disposal of brewing waste, but also to create an economically efficient resource of renewable energy in brewing or its affiliated production.

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Mapping of Olive Oil Mills' Wastes (OOMW) through ERT: A Case Study from Alikianos Site in Eastern Crete (Greece)

Near Surface Geoscience 2014 - 20th European Meeting of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics ◽

10.3997/2214-4609.20142055 ◽

2014 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

N.G. Papadopoulos ◽

P. Soupios ◽

J.H. Kim ◽

K. Simyrdanis ◽

S. Kirkou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Olive Oil ◽

Olive Oil Mills

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The selection of pretreatment options for anaerobic digestion (AD): A case study in olive oil waste production

Chemical Engineering Journal ◽

10.1016/j.cej.2014.08.035 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 259 ◽

pp. 630-639 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

Bernardo Ruggeri ◽

Federico Battista ◽

Milena Bernardi ◽

Debora Fino ◽

Giuseppe Mancini

Keyword(s):

Anaerobic Digestion ◽

Olive Oil ◽

Waste Production ◽

Selection Of

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Effect of yeast addition on the biogas production performance of a food waste anaerobic digestion system

Royal Society Open Science ◽

10.1098/rsos.200443 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 (8) ◽

pp. 200443

Author(s):

Ming Gao ◽

Shuang Zhang ◽

Xinxin Ma ◽

Weijie Guan ◽

Na Song ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Anaerobic Digestion ◽

Food Waste ◽

Biogas Production ◽

Gas Production ◽

Production Performance ◽

Organic Load ◽

Control Group ◽

Volatile Solids ◽

Volatile Organic ◽

The Stability

Food waste contains numerous easily degradable components, and anaerobic digestion is prone to acidification and instability. This work aimed to investigate the effect of adding yeast on biogas production performance, when substrate is added after biogas production is reduced. The results showed that the daily biogas production increased 520 and 550 ml by adding 2.0% (volatile solids; VS) of activated yeast on the 12th and 37th day of anaerobic digestion, respectively, and the gas production was relatively stable. In the control group without yeast, the increase of gas production was significantly reduced. After the second addition of substrate and yeast, biogas production only increased 60 ml compared with that before the addition. After fermentation, the biogas production of yeast group also increased by 33.2% compared with the control group. Results of the analysis of indicators, such as volatile organic acids, alkalinity and propionic acid, showed that the stability of the anaerobic digestion system of the yeast group was higher. Thus, the yeast group is highly likely to recover normal gas production when the biogas production is reduced, and substrate is added. The results provide a reference for experiments on the industrialization of continuous anaerobic digestion to take tolerable measures when the organic load of the feed fluctuates dramatically.

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